inFamous - Playstation 3 (PS3) Previews


	Platform Playstation 3 Genre Action Publisher SCEA Developer Sucker Punch ETA Spring 2009
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inFamous

As a fan of open-world, sand box games, I'm really happy to see more developers taking on the challenges of the genre and utilizing the extra power of this generation of hardware to start to deliver on the promise of a living, breathing gaming world, where each action has some kind of effect on the environment and the attitudes of those little NPCs, that are cursed to live in places that super-powered monstrosities and crime lords battle it out in the streets, change as the game progresses. Progress has been incremental, at best. Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Crackdown, Scarface, Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mercenaries, and, coming soon, Prototype and inFamous but it's still encouraging.

Set in Empire City, which has so recently been plunged into a calamity, inFamous puts you in control of Cole, the lone survivor of a massive explosion that ripped apart a large chunk of the city, which is shortly in chaos. Not only is he the only

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survivor of the blast, he wakes up a couple weeks later with large amounts of electricity at his disposal - from regular bolts of electricity, to electro-grenades, to massive lightning storms.

Known for their Sly Cooper games, developer Sucker Punch has indicated that a "karma" system will be in place in order to track the good deeds the player performs or the havoc wrought. Destroy

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cars and incinerate passers-by and the crowds will run; help people out and they'll hardly blink at your incredible feats and may even help you out. Whether or not the karma system will have an effect on the development of your electrical abilities or the relationships between Cole and his friends Zeke and Trish remain to be seen.

Having only a brief demo of inFamous did nothing to indicate that the game will feature more than just simple escort, defend, attack, and delivery missions (along the main story arc or otherwise). The basic game seems to be in very good shape - at least what was shown - so here's hoping that Empire City is populated with less traditional things to do.

One restriction that has been placed on the Cole is that he can't use guns - bullets and electricity not getting along so well. But the other restriction is a little mind-boggling inasmuch as it relates to superhero games. Cole can get around the city by rooftop, but he has no super powers to do so. (Imagine playing Crackdown without the ability to make 100-yard leaps across empty space.) This means that all the climbing and leaping will be done under "regular" power - regular in the Lara Croft or Nathan Drake sense of the word where fatigue is absolutely no problem. (In some of the gameplay clips, Cole reminds me of Super Mario.) And might it be possible that his powers will evolve enough where he can simply fly? If that doesn't pan out, at least he'll be able to hop aboard a train, the roof anyway, and get quickly from area to area. With a sand box game like this, it'll be interesting to see where Sucker Punch takes it.

There has been much already scribbled about the style and graphics of inFamous so I'll chime in as well. Yes, they look good, but they've got to do something about Cole's backpack.

In his former life as a bike courier, the backpack makes sense. So, unless he actually needs to stow stuff in there while he's zapping crime, it should be eliminated. Or more specifically, the damn flapping straps should be removed. I couldn't help but think of Nariko's epileptic hairdo in Heavenly Sword. While the backpack straps aren't quite that distracting, as I watched the demo I found my eyes tracking to the straps every time Cole moved.

Assuming Sucker Punch can eliminate the strap problem before inFamous' release in Spring 2009, fans of sandbox action games will be in for a treat.

- Omni

(August 8, 2008)